“The most crucial summer yet”: A Man United fan on the importance of this summers transfer window

                                        “The most crucial summer yet”:

            A Man United fan on the importance of this summers transfer window

At the beginning of the 2009/10 season, following the sales of Tevez and Ronaldo, had anyone told me that in the preceding 3 seasons United would win the league once, finish second by a whisker on two separate occasions, and reach a Champions League final, I would have been having none of it.

Maybe I’m a pessimist, but maybe I’m just a realist. At the same time when rival clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City have been able to attract players of the ilk of David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres, there has been a dwindling of top class signings at United. Having to cope with the astronomic debt burdened upon the club by the Glazers, more often than not, United have had to shop in the bargain basement, with the fans having become too familiar with the phrase ‘there’s no value in the market’. As a result, we, as United fans, have had to place our faith in up and coming, potentially world-class and let’s be honest, cheaper players.

Herein lies the problem. Last summer, whilst United added the undoubted potential of players such as David De Gea and Phil Jones for a combined total of 34 million pounds, at the same time, City were able to price away Kun Aguero, a proven, top notch Argentinian international who’d walk in to almost any team on the planet, for the ‘paltry’ sum of 40 million pounds alone. Chelsea too acquired established world-class stars in Juan Mata and Fernando Torres, for a whopping total of over 70 million pounds, over the course of last season. So why is this a problem? Many might argue that United’s policy of focusing on youth is likely to reap huge rewards in the future, and help United maintain its place in the upper echelons of the English game. I completely agree with this point of view and one of the major reasons why I follow United is the importance that the club places on developing and honing talents, giving them a chance on the grandest of stages. However, present success at United is pivotal for the club to be able to maintain its position as the top club in English football in the future and this is where I believe youth is likely to let us down.

Last season, youngsters such as Phil Jones, David De Gea and Daniel Welbeck each had a stellar season, keeping in mind that it was their first season at the club. As good as they might have been, their performances throughout the season were fraught with inconsistency and naivety, definitely not due to a lack of talent, but the sheer inexperience of having to handle the pressures of playing for the biggest football club in the world, in the most competitive league in the world and against some of the best players in the game. Whilst I have complete faith in their ability and am convinced that all of them will be future world-beaters, it is the present that is a major cause for concern. City won their first title in 44 years last season; Chelsea won the Champions League for the first time in their history. Following on from these successes, backed by the riches of their Arab and Russian owners respectively, both teams will continue spend lavishly on attracting household names within the world of football. Chelsea recently beat United to the signing of Eden Hazard, a player that has been dubbed the heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo. City outmuscled United financially last season to capture Samir Nasri, a brilliant playmaker who would have added to United exactly what the team has been missing for the past few years. These two clubs, with money not being an issue, will continue to buy limitless talent and improve every season onwards. This is my main problem with focusing on youth. It will be a fair few seasons, a minimum of 2-3, before we can expect our fledglings to develop into mature, world-class players who can consistently compete against the cream of the crop. However, with City and Chelsea improving all the time, 2-3 seasons is not something we can afford. Given how things currently stand, major investment in key areas of the team is required to ensure that clubs such as Chelsea and City do not leave United far behind, with no hope of catching up.

Another major cause for concern is the fact that sooner rather than later, Sir Alex Ferguson will bring an end to his legendary, trophy-laden spell as United manager. It will not only be nearly impossible for his successor to replicate Sir Alex’ achievement but will also be immensely difficult for him to do so on a shoestring budget. As I’ve stated earlier, it is the sheer genius of Sir Alex that the club has been able to achieve what it has in the past 25 years, and even more so in the past 3 seasons. It is his ability to develop youth, to attract the right players, to man manage them in an exemplary fashion and to play a brand of football that is inbuilt in the nature of Manchester United that has got the club to where it stands today. Therefore, given his impeccable ability to build team after team and his impending retirement, it would only make logical sense for the Glazers to really let go of the financial constraints at the club this summer and allow the best manager in the history of the football club to build his last team, a team burgeoning with youthful exuberance but at the same time, having an abundance of established, world class talent. Not only will this guarantee present success but also enable an easier transition into the club for the new manager, whoever it may be.

Taking into account my causes for concern, I am satisfied with how the summer has begun this time around. Two young, potentially brilliant midfielders in Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell have been signed to address the major area of weakness within this squad currently. As fans, all we can hope for is that this is not the end of transfer activity at United this summer. There are still areas of concern and limited quality within the squad and while I do not believe in speculating about potential arrivals, nor do I like to criticize current United players, let’s all just hope that these potential weaknesses are addressed, and at the end of the season in May next year, we can all be chanting once again, “We shall not be moved, we shall not, we shall not be moved, like the team that’s going to win the Premier League (again)!”

By:
Name: Karan Parakh
Mobile Number: +919867000449

E-mail: karanparakh@gmail.com

Early Reservations.

Been away catching up on University work and some GMAT, but finally got some time on my hands now, so here's the latest addition on all things United.

Since I haven't really posted since the start of the season, I'd like to express my views on how I feel United's new signings have fared so far.

From an attacking point of view, I have absolutely no reason to complain. We've been simply breathtaking at times, unplayable. The passing and the movement a joy to behold, a much welcome relief from the result driven performances last season. Sir Alex has well and truly started building his fifth team of his legendary tenure. We've been scoring goals galore, creating chances aplenty and importantly, finishing off these chances. Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck seem to have hit the ground running and look like they've been at United all their life, which although in Welbeck's case is mostly true, you know what I mean :P

The addition of Ashley Young has served more than just providing us with an attacking thrust on the left of midfield, which, to be honest, we've been lacking since Giggs was in his hay-day. However, other than that, it has allowed us to play Nani on the right, which is his strongest position. I honestly believe Nani, on the right wing is currently not just the best winger in the Premier League, but also one of the best the world over. He's added consistency to his game, started delivering telling final balls and also scoring quite a few goals. It's no co-incidence that he's grown as a player after being deployed in his favoured right wing position, something that wouldn't have been possible in seasons gone by.

Secondly, as much as I hate to admit it, Evra seems to be very much on the slide. Ever since the catastrophe of the 2010 World Cup he has with France, his head doesn't seem to be right. Much renowned for his attacking forays and his astute defending, there seems to be an evident drop in form from our Frenchman. This is where Young comes into the picture. Ash provides much more of an attacking threat than Park, and can defend almost as well as Park. When Park plays with Evra, on the left hand side, he tends to drift in, doing most of his defending and attacking through the middle. This gives Evra much more responsibility, both to attack and defend, considering our play revolves around wing play. However, given the added attacking burden, Evra has been found out on several occasions against quick, tricky wingers in the mould of a Walcott (Yes, I know he's quite useless, but he can run), Lennon and so on. However, when Young plays, Evra has less responsibility to attack and can concentrate on his defending more than before. I feel this makes us much more stable and it was no surprise that our worst defensive display of the season came about indirectly because Young wasn't playing, both against Basle and Norwich. Basle scored 2 of their goals through crossing from the right wing and Steve Morison of Norwich drifted towards our left hand side as much as possible, with often Evra being caught upfield. Thus, taking all these points into account, 20 million pounds for Ashley Young, relatively young (no pun intended :P), English, and an accomplished winger at the highest level, is an absolute bargain. Well done, SAF!

As for our new goalkeeper, I have been hugely impressed. I was one of the first ones to criticize him when he made two mistakes at the beginning of the season. However, what has impressed me the most is the courage and confidence he has shown to recover from his early season blunders. He's grown into the role of stepping into Van Der Sar's shoes admirably and he looks more solid with every passing game. His performance against Stoke was probably one of the most impressive goalkeeping performances I've seen in a very long time. So, let's hope David has recovered from a shaky start and I honestly believe that, given time and support, he will be our number 1 for several years to come. Once again, 18 million pounds doesn't seem too much in this highly inflated market, where most clubs are paying insane amounts of money for relatively average players.

Next up, Phil Jones. What hasn't been said about this kid? The next England and Manchester United captain, the new Duncan Edwards, 'born to play for England', bargain of the century and so on. However, I do believe these claims are still very premature. No doubt he's a fabulous talent, no doubt he's got everything needed to be one of the best defenders in the world, no doubt he has a level head on his shoulders and no doubt he will go on to be a United great, but is it right to expect so much from such a young, inexperienced kid? With injuries to Rio, Vidic, Smalling, Sir Alex hasn't had much choice other than thrusting Jones straight into the deepend, and although he hasn't disappointed in the slightest, there is still room for improvement. I often hear my mates calling for Fergie to drop Rio from the team and install Jones as Vida's first choice partner, but, having watched football for a long time, one thing I am certain of is that nothing can rival experience. There are certain aspects of Jones' game that need to be worked on. Yes, he's brilliant, no doubt and I'd have him in my team over any other centre half in the premier league, but not now, not for a season more at least. Why you might want to ask. Well, here goes. So, with his young age, Jones has the exuberance of youth. We all know how comfortable he is on the ball. He definitely could slot straight into our currently average midfield with complete ease. However, he needs to learn when to make these runs and when not to. For example, in England's draw with Montenegro midweek, with England cruising with a 2-0 lead, with a minute to go to half time, Jones decided to charge down the right wing and when Rooney misplaced his pass, Jones was caught out of position. While the goal was nowhere near his fault, (Terry looked like he wanted to do everything possible to block Joe Hart's view of the ball, and Walcott forgot he's part of a team, which normally requires you to cover if a team mate is caught out of position.) it is this inexperience and exuberance which could cost United dearly in bigger, more important games. (Yes, if you haven't figured it out, I don't give a f**k about England and would much rather have United players stay back instead of wasting time in an underachieving team.) Other than this, small problems which come from inexperience, like positional play will definitely be a thing of the past in a few years time. Having said all this, it's hard to criticize this monster of a player, an awesome talent, and definitely one of the best youngsters gracing the world of football.

Let me know what you think. Comments are appreciated!